composed of phospholipid bilayer (Figure 3-2) (an energetically efficient configuration) separates intracellular and extracellular spaces serves as a barrier to diffusion contains proteins and carbohydrates that reside within the bilayer (Figure 3-3) (question: what part of bilayer is hydrophobic?, hydrophilic?) membrane proteins : (these are extremely important) can selectivley transport molecules and ions can act as receptors to signal responses by the cell (question: what kind of signals?) can form adhesions and junctions with other cells Nucleus - membrane bound organelle containing the genetic material (all somatic cells contain a complete diploid set of the organism’s genetic material, although only a subset of genes are expressed by any given cell) Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) - genetic material directs protein synthesis and serves as genetic blueprint during cell replication Ribonucleic acid (RNA) - carries out protein synthesis messenger RNA DNA’s genetic code is transferred to mRNA via transcription and the message exits the nucleus ribosomal RNA participates in reading the message and translating the message into the appropriate protein sequence ( translation)

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